Maynilad rate to go up, Manila Water to go down due to forex adjustments

MANILA, September 15 ------ The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office has announced tariff increase for Maynilad customers and tariff rollback for Manila Water customers, starting October 1, 2025.

MWSS RO Chief Regulator Patrick Ty said the agency has approved the Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA) petitions submitted by both water concessionaires. FCDA is a quarterly-reviewed tariff mechanism that allows the concessionaires to recover losses or give back gains arising from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. “Ang dahilan bakit tayo nagkakaroon ng rate adjustment ay dahil sa pagalaw ng peso laban sa dolyar, sa yen, at sa euro para payagan ang Manila Water at Maynilad na irecover ang kanilang losses at ipasa rin ang kanilang gains,” said Ty.

Maynilad water rates will rise by P0.14/m3. It is already subsidizing P0.33/m3, but because of foreign exchange movements, it will lower its subsidy to P0.19/m3, hence the P0.14/m3 pass on to customers. This means that those consuming 10 cu.m or less per month will see an additional P0.40 in their water bill, 20 cu.m users will see an additional P1.53 in the water bill, while those consuming 30 cu.m will see a hike of P3.13 per month.

For Manila Water, rates will go down by P0.15-0.16/m3. Currently, Manila Water is already passing on its FCDA adjustments to customers at P0.53/m3, but because of the new foreign exchange movements, they will now pass on next month P0.38/m3. Residential customers consuming 10 cu.m or less will see a reduction of P0.64 in their water bill, while for 20 cu.m users there will be a P1.43 reduction, and for those consuming 30 cu.m, there will be a reduction of P2.91.

Ty said the FCDA is connected to the foreign currency-denominated loans of the two concessionaires. Each company has a different effect because they have different loan agreements. Based on MWSS RO study, the peso weakened against the US dollar compared to the 2023 rebasing rate, while the peso strengthened compared to the Japanese yen. “Maynilad has a lot of Japanese yen-denominated loans and US dollar loans as well, while Manila Water has predominantly US dollar loans,” he added.

Ty now urges low-income residents especially those under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4PS), consuming up to 20cu.m per month to register for the Enhanced Lifeline Program of Maynilad and Manila Water. Enhanced Lifeline members will be exempted by FCDA movements and will also have much lower water rates. For example, Enhanced Lifeline members of Maynilad. currently only pay P376.75 per month for 20 cu.m households. This is much lower than the P682.72 water bill of non-members. Manila Water enhanced lifetime customers consuming 20 cu.m also just pay P272.67 per month compared to regular customers who pay P562.72. Ty hopes more low-income customers register to get discounted water rates. This program started this year, and qualified customers can go to the office of the water firm to apply.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com